Philip Wittmann’s work questions the impact that the association of ancient characters and symbols has on our imagination.

Drawing from a study of our historical and cultural heritage, he has created a collection of signs inspired in part by ancient alphabets. For Wittmann, signs represent an intermediate step between the written and the abstract.

Writing enables the reader to evoke precise mental images. In contrast, signs are not bound to a specific language, and therefore allow for mental associations of a different order than those of written language. Most of these signs bear no direct relationship to reality and are distinguished by a certain degree of abstraction.

The final result is a composition of signs that he freely associates. The completed work is then given a title.